CONCORD – The New Hampshire House of Representatives Wednesday killed or set aside for study a series of bills aimed at delaying or terminating the state’s participation in the controversial college and career readiness standards program known common core.

The action on five common core-related bills by the House brought to an end, at least for this session of the Legislature, the continuing emotional debate over the issue.

The House rejected, 201-138, House Bill 1508, which would have terminated state participation in common core. Sixteen Republicans joined 185 Democrats in the majority, while three Democrats joined 135 Republicans on the losing side, in favor of ending the program.

The House Education Committee had recommended that the bill be killed on a vote of 13-6, but Republican common core opponents tried, unsuccessfully, to portray the program as federal government intrusion in local education decisions.

House Votes Down Bills To Change Standards
By Kathleen Ronayne
Concord Monitor
Thursday, March 27, 2014

Concord — Five bills aimed at scaling back portions of the Common Core education standards or the new tests associated with them failed to gain support in the House Wednesday.

“Termination for all this effort and activity would be nothing less than chaotic for our students, teachers and others,” said Rep. Mary Stuart Gile, D-Concord, chairwoman of the House Education Committee.

Here are the comments of Rep. Mel Myler (D-Contoocook) speaking in support of the committee recommendation, Inexpedient to Legislate, on HB 1508, the one sentence bill that would have ended the Common Core in New Hampshire. The vote was 201-138, including 17 Republicans, in favor of killing the bill. Mel had to have been directly responsible for some of those votes.

Yesterday and today, in six separate roll call votes, the New Hampshire House refused to pass a single anti-Common Core bill on to the Senate. All those bills were voted either Inexpedient to Legislate or Interim Study. (more…)

The HB 1397 study committee proposal was defeated on Tuesday, 228-77. Here are the remaining four bills about the Common Core and the Smarter Balanced assessment in the order in which the House will take them up today.

HB1239 -FN-L (testimony here) This is a “sand in the gears” bill to bring adoption of education standards to a halt. It would be hard to ever adopt a new standard again. No law or regulation has to endure this level of process. Among other things, the bill requires the department to hold hearings in each executive council district. Committee recommendation: ITL, 13-6

HB1432 (testimony here) was amended out of existence in the education committee but is still listed here in case it comes back as a floor amendment. If HB 1432 were to pass, New Hampshire would be in violation of federal law. The State would risk going back to AYP and losing $116 million in federal funding. It was never clear what the bill actually said, but my best guess is here. The main problems with the bill are listed here. Committee recommendation: Interim Study on amended version.

Sponsors: Murotake, Boehm, Cordelli, Kelley, Sanborn

HB 1432 committee amendment is a hastily written amendment that, unlike the original bill, would allow NHDOE to administer the Smarter Balanced assessment for one year but would require legislative action by the new Legislature next year to continue Smarter Balanced, making the annual assessment a political decision. Here are the details. Committee recommendation: Interim Study, 8-7

Sponsors: Murotake, Ladd

HB 1496 would prevent the Smarter Balanced Assessment from being used. The bill is a collection of blog quotes about what’s wrong with the Smarter Balanced assessment and never became a serious contender for OTP. Committee recommendation: Interim Study, 15-3

Sponsor is Hoell

HB 1508-FN (testimony here) is a one sentence bill that seeks to “terminate all plans, programs, activities, and expenditures relative to the implementation of the common core….any assessments and instruction based upon such standards.” This bill would shut down real teaching in New Hampshire public schools, which have been implementing the Common Core for 4 years, and have no alternative education standard or assessment. Committee recommendation: ITL, 13-6

Drs. Milgram and Stotsky have made a career of traveling the country opposing the Common Core on the basis that all the other participants are engaged in a conspiracy and that only Milgram and Stotsky know how to teach math and English.

Political opponents of the Common Core frequently misquote the teachers’ unions’ position on the Common Core and the test. Here, in today’s Concord Monitor, National Education Association – New Hampshire president Scott McGilvray leaves no room for misunderstanding: (more…)

Sanborn is years down the road implementing the Common Core. Dr. Blake says they have not seen any increase in costs as a result of implementing the Common Core and talks about looking forward to the rigor of the assessment:

Dear Members of NH House Education Committee,

RE: Testimony in support of the Common Core and related issues.

I am writing this email to share my thoughts in support of the Common Core and issues related to it. As the Superintendent of Schools for the Sanborn Regional School District, I fully support the implementation of the Common Core and improved assessment practices.